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FROM CANOE TO TUNNEL 

A Sketch of the History of Trans- 
portation between Jersey City ■*^^<^ ^^' 
and New York, 
1661-1909 



A SOUVENIR OF TUNNEL DAY 
July 19, 1909 



Prepared by the 

FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY 

OF JERSEY CITY 



J 535^- 



Press of A. J. Doan 



18 '09 



FROn CANOE TO TUNNEL. 

A Sketch of the History of Transportation between Jersey 
City and New York. 



1661-1909. 



Now that "Three Minutes from Broadway" has become an 
assured fact, and the traveller to New York may take his choice be- 
tween the luxurious coaches of the Hudson Tunnel system or the pala- 
tial steamboats of the various ferry hnes, it is difficult to appreciate 
the discomforts and dangers of the trip in former times. The history 
of the transportation facilities between Jersey City and New York 
shows a steady but slow improvement. The canoes of the Indians 
and the rowboats of the first settlers were followed by the queer sail- 
ing boats of the early Dutch inhabitants, called "periaugers. " These 
were used until the early part of the nineteenth century, when they 
were superseded by the steam ferry boats introduced by Fulton. For 
years, however, these were little better than the old sail boats, but 
they gradually improved, changing to the side wheel steamers and 
these again to the magnificent screw propelled vessels which 
now ply the waters of the Hudson and are probably the finest river 
ferryboats in the world. These had scarcely become familiar objects 
when the long dreamed of tunnel beneath the Hudson became a reality. 

The first ferry between the present cities of Jersey City and New 
York, of which there is any record, was established near what is now 
the foot of Communipaw avenue, in 1661, and William Jansen was 
licensed to take charge of it. The boats used in these early ferries 
were rowboats, and small decked sailboats, known as "periaugers. " 
These were pointed at both ends and carried two masts and boom sails. 
When horses and carriages were to be taken across they were detached 
and hfted into the boat. Jansen was the ferryman for eight years, 
but there seems to have been considerable trouble between him and 
the inhabitants. He claimed the exclusive right to ferry people over 
the river and insisted that they had no legal right even to use their 
own boats to cross over in. The settlers resisted this claim and also 
complained that the ferryman did not do his duty. Jansen on the other 
hand claimed that the people refused to pay. The matter was laid 
before the authorities at New Amsterdam, and judgment was rendered 
' 'that the Sheriff must assist the ferryman in getting his pay and that 
he must do his duty or be dismissed. ' ' 



What became of Jansen is not known, but in June, 1669, Gov- 
ernor Carteret appointed Pieter Hetfelsen to succeed him. This li- 
cense gave Hetfelsen the exclusive privilege to transport passengers 
and goods, but permitted the inhabitants to use their own boats for 
ferrying their families or their own possessions. The ferryman was 
required to attend the ferry on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; 
so that it was only on three days in the week that the settlers were 
sure of means of transportation across the river. This document also 
fixed the rates to be charged. The fare for passengers was six stuiv- 
ers; for a horse four guilders; for a cow three guilders, and so on. 
The Governor and his family and "any person, letter or packet, or 
message of public business" were to be carried free. The fares were 
to be paid in "Wampum." This was the Indian name for the beads 
made by the Indians from shells. These were highly prized by the 
Indians and were used by them, and consequently by the Colonists, as 
a medium of exchange. 

Hetfelsen acted as ferryman until 1672, when John Tymensen 
was commissioned to take his place. It is probable that this ferry 
continued in operation until the opening of the Paulus Hook ferry drove 
it out of business, but there is no mention of it until 1783, in which year 
an advertisement appeared stating that "Aaron Longstreet would take 
passengers to Communipaw to connect with the stage running to 
Newark and Philadelphia." Soon after the British evacuated Paulus 
Hook in 1783 the Communipaw ferry seems to have fallen into disuse 
until the Central Railroad of New Jersey was extended to Jersey City, 
about 1864, when the ferry was revived and has been running ever 
since. 

The Jersey City ferry was established June 18, 1764, and was 
part of a new route to Philadelphia by way of Bergen Point and 
Staten Island. It was founded by Abraham Mesier and Michael 
Cornelissen. The landing place at New York was at Mesier's Dock 
at the foot of Cortlandt street. By arrangement with Cornelius Van 
Vorst the landing on the Jersey side was at Paulus Hook at the foot 
of Grand street. Passengers en route to Philadelphia stopped at 
Major Hunt's tavern at the landing place and took the stage the next 
morning. The trip between New York and Philadelphia took three 
days. It will be noted that these early ferries were principally for 
the convenience of persons travelling between New York and Phila- 
delphia and other points. It is evident that Jersey City was consid- 
ered in those days, as unfortunately it was for long afterward, not as 
a place to go to, but only as a place to pass through when going some- 
where else. 

From the very first the owners of the ferry found it difl[icult to 
make it pay. The ferry changed hands several times and was leased 
to different persons, and the amount of rent to be paid was readjusted 
again and again. 

In March, 1799, the Common Council of New York established 
the rates of ferriage, which in view of the present fares seem 



decidedly high. For example an ordinary foot passenger was charged 
9 pence; a coach or covered wagon 8 shillings; a horse 1 shilling 9 
pence. Almost everything that can be thought of is specified; thus 
a feather bed is rated at 6 pence; a common chair 1 penny; a mahog- 
any chair 2 pence; a chest of tea two shillings. 

Until 1804 the ferry and the adjoining land was owned by Cor- 
nelius Van Vorst. In 1804 the "Associates of the Jersey Company" 
were incorporated and the ferry conveyed to them. In the same year 
Joseph Lyon of Elizabethport leased the ferry, and the landing place 
was moved to a point lying between York and Grand streets. 

Up to this time the ferry accommodations consisted of a few 
rowboats with two oarsmen to each and a few extra oars which the 
passengers were expected to use if they were in a hurry to cross. 
There were also two periaugers which were used when the wind was 
good, or when it was necessary to take a horse and carriage. With a 
favorable wind the passage could be made in half an hour, but some- 
times it took three hours to cross. 

The success of Fulton's "Clermont" in 1807, however, sug- 
gested the use cf steam for ferry boats; and in 1809 Elisha Boudinot, 
General Cummings and a number of other Newark men subscribed 
$50,000 to start a steam ferry, and Fulton was asked to construct a 
boat suitable for such a purpose. In March, 1811, they obtained a 
lease of the ferry and the pri\ilege of landing on the New York side. 

In the meantime John Stevens of Hoboken commenced the con- 
struction of a steam ferry boat for the Hoboken ferry and succeeded 
in completing it by October, 1811, nearly a year before Fulton's boat 
was used on the Paulus Hook Ferry. The honor of putting in opera- 
tion the first steam ferry boat therefore belongs to John Stevens; 
but having won the credit he seems to have abandoned the use of 
steam after a short period and gone back to the old fashioned horse 
boat. 

Fulton had ordered two boats to be built by Charles Brown, 
who had constructed the Clermont, and on July 2, 1812, one of them, 
named the "Jersey," was completed and put in operation. Some 
alterations were found to be necessary, however, and it was not until 
July 17 that the regular trips were begun. To celebrate the event 
an entertainment was given at Lyon's tavern in Jersey City to the 
Mayor and Common Council cf New York City and a number of other 
prominent guests. A passenger who made the trip on the first day 
writes as follows: "I crossed the North River yesterday in the 
Steam Boat with my family in my carriage, without alighting there- 
from, in fourteen minutes with an immense crowd of passengers. I 
cannot express to you how much the public mind appeared to be grat- 
ified at finding so large and so safe a machine going so well. On both 
shores were thousands of people viewing the pleasing object." 

Fulton's description of the boat is as follows: "She is built of 
two boats, each ten feet beam, eighty feet long, and five feet deep 

5 



in the hold ; which boats are distant from each other ten feet, con- 
fined by strong transverse beam knees and diagonal traces, forming a 
deck thirty feet wide and eighty feet long. The propelling water 
wheel is placed between the boats to prevent it from injury from ice 
and shocks on entering or approaching the dock. The whole of the 
machinery being placed betv/een the two boats leaves ten feet on the 
deck of each boat for carriages, horses, cattle, etc.; the other having 
neat benches and covered with an awning, is for passengers, and 
there is also a passage and stairway to a neat cabin, which is fifty 
feet long and five feet clear from the floor to the beams, furnished 
with benches and provided with a stove in winter. Although the two 
boats and the space between them give thirty feet beam, yet they 
present sharp bows to the water, and have only the resistance in the 
water of one boat of twenty feet beam. Both ends being alike, and 
each having a rudder, she never puts about." 

In connection with the operation of these boats Fulton invented 
the floating bridge which rises and falls with the tide and by counter- 
balancing weights on the shore ; and about this same period Stevens 
devised the spring pile for guiding the boats into the slip. 

In 1813 the "York," constructed on the same plan as the 
"Jersey," was completed and put in operation. These boats started 
every morning at sunrise from each side of the river and were sched- 
uled to run all day, every half hour by "St. Paul's Church clock." 
The fares were collected on the boat during the passage. 

As may be seen from the description these boats were a great 
improvement over the former sail and row boats, but even these must 
have given very poor accommodation. It was said that they were 
very slow and that they usually took an hour and a half to make a 
trip. When the wind was very severe they were often unable to 
cross. In winter the floating ice would be blown by the northwest 
winds against the piers on the New York side of the river and would 
interfere with the navigation of the ferry boats so that they would 
be compelled to load and receive passengers at the foot of Broadway. 
In fact when there was much ice in the river the passage was some- 
times very perilous. These conditions existed for many years, but 
with the improvements in steam navigation and the introduction of 
the more powerful machinery they gradually disappeared. 

The experience of the company which introduced the steam 
ferry was, as regards finances, similar to the companies that pi-eceded 
it. Up to May, 1816, they had made but one dividend of five per cent, 
and they requested the Common Council of New York either to pur- 
chase the ferry, reduce the rent or increase the rates of ferriage. 
The only rehef granted was to increase the fares for passengers to 
12§ cents. The management changed hands several times until it 
finally returned to its owners "The Associates of the Jersey Com- 
pany." In 1831 they leased the ferry to the New Jersey Railroad and 
Transportation Company who operated it until it was transferred to 



the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1871, who have controlled it 
ever since. 

The first permanent night ferry was established in 1835, in re- 
sponse to a petition presented to the proprietors of the ferry by a com- 
mittee of the citizens of Jersey City. This committee consisted of 
the most prominent men of the city, including R. Gilchrist, C. Van 
Vorst, G. Dummer and D. S. Gregory, to whose efforts the result 
was largely due. Previous to this the citizens of Jersey City had 
been virtually prisoners after nightfall; and the event was celebrated 
by fireworks, bonfires and music. 

The landing place of the Jersey City ferry has been changed 
several times. It was first situated at the foot of Grand street, about 
100 feet west of Hudson street. It was afterward changed to a point 
between Grand and York streets, with the slip opening diagonally up 
the river. From there it was moved to the foot of York street. 
On April 1, 1839, it was again moved to the corner of Montgom- 
ery and Hudson streets. In 1856 the block east of Hudson street was 
filled in, and the landing place was finally changed to its present 
location. The landing place on the New York side has remained at 
the foot of Cortlandt street ever since the ferry was started. 

On May 5, 1851, the Common Council of New York City gave 
permission for a landing at the foot of Desbrosses street, and this line 
was opened in 1862. The ferry to Twenty-third street was opened 
May 16, 1897. 

In 1890 double decked boats were put in operation and the service 
greatly improved. The use of the screw propeller in place of the side 
wheel was first introduced on November 16, 1891, when the ferry 
boat Cincinnati was put in operation on the Cortlandt street line. 

The earliest record of the Pavonia ferry is a patent from King 
George the Second, dated January 7, 1733, granting the exclusive 
right of ferriage from Pavonia to New York, to Archibald Kennedy. 
Apparently he did not fulfill the conditions of the grant and so for- 
feited the privilege. Nothing more is heard of this ferry until 1753, 
when a petition was presented to the Common Council of New York 
for a ferry from the west end of Pearl street to Harsimus, but noth- 
ing came of this either. 

In 1802, Nathaniel Budd, without a license, built a dock at Eighth 
and Provost streets, and started a ferry to New York. In November 
of 1802 the Legislature of New Jersey authorized Budd to erect a 
ferry; but there is no record that he ever obtained permission fi-om 
the authorities in New York to land his boats on that side of the river. 
On October 24, 1803, however, he advertised his ferry as being in 
operation and it seems pretty certain that he ran his boats for some 
years after that. 

In April, 1818, a number of persons petitioned for a ferry from 
the foot of Chambers street to Harsimus. Nothing more seems to 
have been heard of the Pavonia ferry until May, 1861, when it was re- 

7 



vived by the Erie Railroad Company, who have run the ferry ever 
since. The Twenty-third street branch of this ferry was established 
in May, 1868. 

In 1822 a Brooklyn ferry boat was run between Jersey City and 
Long Island City. This boat, however, was only used for the accom- 
modation of people attending the races which were being held at the 
Union Race Course at Long Island. It only made four trips a day and 
was discontinued when the races were over. The first permanent 
ferry between Jersey City and Brooklyn was started when the 
Brooklyn Annex was put in operation on August 12th, 1877. On 
December 7, 1897, this ferry was purchased by the Pennsylvania 
Railroad, by whom it has been operated ever since. 

On December 1, 1891, the Pennsylvania Railroad opened a ferry 
from the foot of Morgan street, Jersey City to Thirteenth street, 
New York. This was used principally for wagon traffic, and was dis- 
continued May 1, 1900. 

Considering the long time the Jersey City ferries have been in 
operation and the enormous number of passengers that have been car- 
ried during that period there have been remarkably few accidents. 
Soon after the steam ferry was started, the boiler of one of the boats, 
the "New Jersey" exploded while she was lying in the slip. This 
occurred shortly after the boat was built, and two of the persons who 
happened to be on board were killed. 

On October 31, 1899, the ferry boat "Chicago, "of the Cortlandt 
street line, was run into by the steamer "City of Augusta" and sunk. 
The accident occurred about one o'clock in the morning. There were 
over one hundred passengers on board, but only two lives were lost. 

At the present time there are eight ferry lines connecting 
Jersey City with New York. These are the Erie Railroad ferries, 
running from the foot of Pavonia avenue and landing at Chambers 
street and West 23rd street. New York City; the Pennsylvania system, 
leaving from Exchange Place and landing at Cortlandt street, Des- 
brosses street, and West 23rd street. New York, and the Annex to 
the foot of Fulton street, Brooklyn; the New Jersey Central ferries, 
running from the railroad terminal at Communipaw, with landings 
at Liberty street and West 23rd street. All these lines are equipped 
with first class boats and maintain excellent service day and night. 

On the 25th of February, 1908, the first tunnel under the Hud- 
son was completed and opened to the public. This was the consum- 
ation of one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times and 
marked the beginning of a new era in the history of transportation 
between Jersey City and New York. 

The art of tunnelling has been known to man from the earliest 
times and doubtless originated from the caves and other natural under- 
ground passages which were used for shelter by prehistoric man. In 
Egypt long tunnels have been found which were cut through solid 
rock thousands of years ago, serving as passages to the tombs of 

8 



ancient kings. Similar rock cut tunnels were made by the early in- 
habitants of India in building their temples and by many other 
ancient races. The tunnels constructed by the Assyrians are probably 
the earliest examples of built up tunnels. The vaulted drain under 
the palace of Nimrud, built about 860 B. C, may be considered a gen- 
uine soft ground tunnel. A similar example and what might quite 
properly be considered as the first subaqueous tunnel on record was 
under the Euphrates River. This was built of brick masonry and 
was 12 feet wide and 15 feet high. When this was being constructed, 
however, it was not strictly speaking, a subaqueous tunnel for it was 
built under the dry bed of the river, the waters of which were turned 
aside until the tunnel was completed. 

Of course among the ancient peoples such work was all done by 
hand, the tools being pick and shovel for the soft ground; and hammer, 
and chisel and wedges for rock tunnelling. 

The Romans were the greatest tunnel builders of ancient times 
and devised many ingenious methods for the work. Their tunnels 
were constructed principally for acqueducts and roads, and some of 
them are wonderful examples of engineering when the absence of 
modern facilities for such work is considered. 

During the middle ages tunnels were only built for military 
purposes and little progress was made in the methods of work until 
the introduction of gunpowder. Up to the beginning of the 19th 
century most all the tunnels were built through rock or hard ground, 
the soft ground tunnel being scarcely ever attempted. 

In 1803 a tunnel 24 feet wide was cut through soft soil for the 
St. Augustine Canal in France. Timbering was used to support the 
roof and sides while the earth was being removed, and was followed 
by a lining of masonry. 

One of the greatest factors in bringing the art of tunnelling to 
its present importance was the development of the steam railway. 
Almost immediately tunnel building increased. About 1820 two tun- 
nels were constructed on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway in 
England. In the United States the first railway tunnel was built on 
the Allegheny Portage Railroad in Pennsylvania, in 1831-33. This 
increase in tunnel building was accompanied by corresponding progress 
in methods of construction and the introduction of improved machinery 
and special devices. 

One of the greatest of these improvements was the invention 
and development of the shield system without which the construction 
of the present great submarine tunnels would have been impossible. 
In the construction of mountain tunnels such as those under the Alps 
and other rock tunnels, the principal difficulties encountered were the 
hardness of the rocks, the great length of tunnel, the lack of ventila- 
tion, etc. Tunnelling under water, however, is radically different. 
The mere excavation presents little trouble ; but flooding has con- 
stantly to be guarded against, and as the work is usually through 



soft soils, mud, gravel or clay, the engineering problems are very 
different and exceedingly difficult. 

By the use of the shield and compressed air most of these diffi- 
culties have been overcome. The shield was invented by Sir Marc 
Brunei in 1825 ; and has been steadily improved and has changed so 
greatly that little remains of the original device except the idea. One 
of the first great improvements in connection with the shield method 
was the use of cast iron lining by Peter Barlow in 1869 in the tunnel 
under the Thames, England. Lord Cochrane first suggested the use 
of compressed air and in 1830 took out a patent for air locks and 
other appliances to be used in tunnelling. Compressed air without a 
shield was used in the old Hudson River tunnel in the seventies. The 
next great step in the art of tunnel building was made in 1887, when a 
greatly improved shield was devised by J. H. Greathead. This is the 
one which is now generally used, but in minor details the construction 
and use of the shield varies considerably. The shield used in the 
construction of the Hudson tunnels is thus described in a recent num- 
ber of the "Review of Reviews ": — 

"This shield, which is one of the greatest inventions in construc- 
tion machinery of the past half century, resembles in appearance a 
great drum built of heavy steel plates. In the head of the drum, 
which is known as the diaphragm, there are doors for the passage of 
the workmen and the withdrawal of the clay and other excavated 
material. The upper edge of the drum is a cutting knife which goes 
through the hardest material when the shield is driven forward by 
the pressure from hydraulic jacks, holding up the river as it goes with 
compressed air while the waste material is removed. The upper por- 
tion of the drum which extends backward over that portion of the 
tunnel tube which has been completed, known as the ' tail of the 
shield, ' forms the protection for the men who are setting up the iron 
castings, ring by ring, and making the tunnel pi'oper. Immediately 
back of the head is the great crane, or ' erector, ' v/hich picks up the 
castings and holds them in place while they are bolted together. The 
entire work is carried on under air pressure which is made possible by 
placing in the mouth of the completed tunnel some distance in the 
rear of the shield a solid bulkhead in which are fitted and placed air- 
locks through which workmen and materials pass to the work at the 
shield. Thus the com.pleted tunnel advances. The tunnels them- 
selves are made up of iron castings bolted together and set in place 
consecutively as the boring shield opens the way for them." 

Many important tunnels were constructed after the introduction 
of the improvements referred to, but none that equalled the Hudson 
tunnels in magnitude or in the difficulties encountered. 

In 1874 a civil engineer by the name of D. C. Haskins, conceived 
the idea and organized a company to construct two tunnels from a 
point near the Palisades, in Jersey City, to a terminus at or near 
Washington Square, New York. At that time it was his purpose to 

10 ' 



build, if possible, a union railroad station at Washington Square, and 
induce trunk line railroads in New Jersey to make joint use of it. 
Haskins began the construction of one of these tunnels in 1879, and 
built about 1800 feet of one tunnel. In 1882 his company failed. In 
1890 the company was reorganized and the English contracting firm 
of S. Pearson & Sons undertook to build the tunnel to the foot of 
Morton street. After building 1800 feet additional the company again 
failed in 1892, leaving, at that time, 3600 feet of single tunnel con- 
structed from the waterfront of Jersey City towards New York. 
This tunnel was eighteen feet in diameter, one-half brick and one-half 
iron. 

At the time the work was commenced there had been little 
experience in the construction of such a tunnel and with the difficult 
conditions that existed the work was necessarily dangerous and costly. 
It is said that over $4,000,000 was expended by these early companies 
in the prosecution of the work. 

At first the shield was not used, the excavation being made 
under pneumatic pressure. It was extremely difficult to keep up this 
pressure as the earth was too loose to retain the air, and as soon as it 
escaped the water would rush in. 

On July 21, 1880, a serious leak occurred which resulted in the 
loss of twenty lives ; and brought out one of those instances of hero- 
ism which have so often been displayed during the progress of great 
engineering works. One of the workmen, named Peter Woodland, 
a resident of Jersey City, was the first to discover the leak. He was 
at the door of the air-lock and giving warning to the men hurried 
them through the exit. After eight of the men had gotten through 
Woodland saw that if the door were not quickly closed from the inside 
all would be drowned. So to save the lives of those who had already 
passed he at once closed the door, and the water soon filling the 
chamber, drowned him and the others who had been unable to pass. 
Woodland could have saved his own life when he discovered the 
accident, but instead he kept to his post to save his comrades. A 
monument commemorating the event has been erected over his grave 
in the New York Bay Cemetery, in Jersey City. 

The tunnel proposition lay dormant for about nine years, until 
in 1901, Mr. William G. McAdoo became interested in the idea and 
entered into negotiations with the Bondholders Re-Organization Com- 
mittee, of which Mr. F. B. Jennings, of the firm of Stetson, Jennings 
& Russell, was Chairman. Mr. McAdoo presented a plan for the 
completion of the single eighteen foot tunnel, which was to contain 
two tracks and be operated with narrow-gauge cars of special design, 
and was to run from the Lackawanna station in Hoboken, to a termi- 
nal at Ninth avenue and Christopher street. New York, and the New 
York and New Jersey Railroad Company was organized by him for 
this purpose in the early part of 1902, and he was elected President. 
A short time after, Mr. McAdoo became convinced that the operation 

11 



of the single tunnel with narrow-gauge cars would not be satisfactory, 
and a second tunnel, parallel to the first, was undertaken. He also 
became convinced that no tunnels under the Hudson river would be 
satisfactory unless a system was provided by which the people could 
be landed into the downtown district of New York as well as the up- 
town district. With this in mind, a new tunnel system was planned 
to extend from Hoboken, through the Erie and Pennsylvania railroad 
stations in Jersey City, thence crossing the Hudson river to a terminal 
station at Cortlandt and Church streets. New York, and it was also 
planned to extend the uptown tunnels from Ninth avenue and Christo- 
pher street to Sixth avenue and Thirty-third street, also from Ninth 
street and Sixth avenue to a connection with the Subway at Fourth 
avenue. In 1903 Mr. McAdoo organized a company to build the down- 
town tunnels, and entered into an arrangement with the Pennsylvania 
Railroad Company, negotiations having been conducted with Mr. A. 
J. Cassatt, for terminal facilities in Jersey City and for the Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad Company's co-operation; without which the downtown 
section could not have been constructed. Since that time an exten- 
sion from Thirty-third street and Sixth avenue to the Grand Central 
station has been planned and a franchise therefor has been obtained. 

Upon the organization of the first company in 1902, W. G. Mc- 
Adoo was elected President, Walter G. Oakman, then President of the 
Guaranty Trust Company, was elected Vice-President, and Charles M. 
Jacobs was elected as Chief Engineer. In 1S05 the firm of Harvey 
Fisk & Sons became interested in the project through the instrument- 
ality of Mr. Walter G. Oakman. The uptown and downtown tunnel 
companies as well as those incorporated in New Jersey, as required 
by law, were consolidated into the present Hudson and Manhattan 
Railroad Company on December 1, 1906, Mr. McAdoo having been 
President of all the tunnel companies from the beginning. 

Mr. Charles M. Jacobs has been chief engineer of construction 
from the beginning, and Mr. J. V. Davies, his partner, has been 
deputy chief engineer. 

The men upon whom has chiefly rested the responsibility for the 
enterprise are Pliny Fisk and Wilbur C. Fisk (now Vice-President of 
the Hudson & Manhattan Railroad Company) both members of the 
firm of Harvey Fisk & Sons, bankers; Mr. Walter G. Oakman, Presi- 
dent of the Hudson Companies, which constructed a portion of the 
tunnels but is now more of a holding and financing company; Mr. 
William M. Barnum, until recently a member of the firm of Harvey 
Fisk & Sons, and William G. McAdoo, President of the Hudson & 
Manhattan Railroad Company. 

On the engineering staff Mr. Charles M. Jacobs is Chief Engi- 
neer, Mr. J. V. Davies, Deputy Chief Engineer, Mr. L. B. Stillwell, 
Consulting Electrical Engineer; Mr. Hugh Hazelton, Electrical En- 
gineer, and Mr. John Van Vleck, Mechanical Engineer. 

It is almost impossible to conceive of the difficulties of this 

12 




WILLIAM GIBBS McADOO 
is of Scotch descent and was born near Marietta, Georgia, in 1863. Graduated from the 
University of Tennessee. Removed to New York in 1892 and practiced law. In 1901 
became interested in the construction of the Hudson Tunnelo, and has been identified with 
that enterprise ever since. 



undertaking and it is only due to the untiring energy and patience of 
Mr. McAdoo and his assistants that the task has been achieved. 

Mr. McAdoo in a speech delivered February 25, 1908, gives the 
f oUow^ing description of some of the obstacles met with : 

' 'At the deepest part of the river near the New York side a ledge 
of rock was encountered at the bottom of the river. This ledge was only 
twelve feet high while the tunnel was eighteen feet. The problem 
that was presented was having to build the bottom of the tunnel 
through rock and the top through silt and at the same time support a 
river more than one mile wide and sixty-two feet deep, with a cover 
of only fifteen feet of silt between the top of the tunnel and the bot- 
tom of the river. It was necessary to blast the rock in the bottom 
and hold the silt at the top. This problem was considered so serious 
that for many years doubts have been entertained by eminent engi- 
neers as to whether or not it was possible of solution. This was, how- 
ever, solved by the chief engineer, Mr. Charles M. Jacobs, and inside 
of a year the eight hundred feet of rock had been blasted out and the 
successful construction of the tunnels under the Hudson River was 
assured." 

The physical difficulties were not the only ones that had to be 
met and overcome. The financing of such a gigantic scheme was not 
an easy matter, and the enterprise had just gotten fairly under way 
when the panic of 1903 struck the business world with disastrous 
effect, and it seemed for a time as though the undertaking would have 
to be temporarily abandoned. This crisis, however, was weathered 
successfully, but in the meantime other diflftculties presented them- 
selves. Various railroad and street traction interests, fearing the 
competition of the tunnel system, contested the right of way of the 
tunnel companies and endeavored to prevent their obtaining the nec- 
essary permits for extending the lines under the Jersey shore and in 
New York. All these attempts to defeat the enterprise were finally 
overcome, largely through Mr. McAdoo and his powerful arguments 
before the New York Rapid Transit Commission. In spite of all these 
obstacles the tunnels were finally completed, the first section run- 
ning from Hoboken to New York being opened to the public February 
25, 1908, that from Jersey City to New York on July 19, 1909. 

The tunnels consist of two tubes entirely separate from each 
other about fifteen feet in diameter inside. The tubes are made of 
iron rings securely bolted together. These rings measure sixteen 
feet in diameter and weigh five tons each. In most places they are 
covered with a coating of concrete, so the interior of the tube is 
smooth. The tunnel tubes are from sixty to ninety feet below the 
surface of the Hudson, and the distance between the roof of the tun- 
nel and the bed of the river is from fifteen to forty feet. The tubes 
are about thirty feet apart. 

The tunnel as originally planned was to have been a single tube 
from Hoboken to Christopher street and Ninth avenue. New York, a 

13 



distance of two miles. The present system when finished will com- 
prise about twenty miles of single track or ten miles of double 
track tunnels. 

All the latest devices in the construction and operation of the 
system are used. The trains are run on the third rail system and the 
cars are made entirely of steel and are absolutely fire-proof. The 
doors of the cars are operated by compressed air, and are automatic- 
ally adjusted so that the electric signal to start the train cannot be 
given until every door is closed. There are also automatic devices 
for stopping the train in emergencies. 

The great terminal building at Cortlandt street, New York, is 
almost as great an engineering triumph as the tunnels. The combin- 
ation of office buildings and railroad terminal was an idea original 
with the tunnel company and has been worked out on a gigantic scale, 
with many unique and remarkable features. It really consists of 
two buildings, each covering an entire block, and connected by a 
bridge over the intervening street. The building is twenty-two stories 
above the street and four stories below, and is probably the largest 
office building in the world. It will accommodate 10,000 persons. The 
construction is of solid steel, 28,000 tons being used, and the total cost 
was over $13, 000, 000. Itserection was aremarkable feat of engineering. 
Soon after starting to dig for the foundation a bed of quicksand was 
encountered. Before the foundation could be laid it was found neces- 
sary to sink an immense cofferdam inclosing the entire space for two 
square blocks. The space inside of this was excavated to a depth of 
nearly one hundred feet to the bed rock on which the caisons and con- 
crete foundations of the building were placed. The terminal station 
for the tunnels is in this building about thirty feet below the street 
level, and connections can be made herewith the subway and elevated 
roads and there is also a passage leading to Broadway. The ticket 
offices, baggage and similar rooms are on the next floor; and on the 
street level the office floors of the building commence. 



The thanks of the Trustees of the Free Public Library are due 
to Mr. William G. McAdoo of the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad 
Company and to Mr. F. L. Sheppard of the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company for information furnished; and to Edmund W. Miller, 
Secretary of the Public Library, for the compilation of the foregoing 
paper. 



14 



JERSEY CITY. 

First settled at Paulus Hook 1633 

Town of Bergen settled 1660 

Jersey City incorporated 1820 

Van Vorst township consolidated with Jersey City 1851 

Bergen and Hudson City consolidated with Jersey City 1870 

Greenville annexed to Jersey City 1873 

Population of Jersey City, 1802 13 

" 1829 1,025 

" 1870 82,545 

" 1900 (United States Census) 206,443 

" 1905 (State Census) 232,699 

" 1909 (Estimated) 253,711 

Area of city (square miles) 19.2 

Assessed valuation $232,769,781 

Tax rate $1.92 

Number of manufactories in city 1,090 

Number of employees 25,958 

Capital invested in manufactures $190,376,596 

Value of products $110,431,915 

Number of public schools 34 

Number of pupils 32,371 

Number of city parks 10 

Area of city parks, (acres) 40.36 

County park, (area, acres) 208 

Total value of public property $7,654,451 

Principal public buildings:— 

New County Court House, cost $900, 000 

City Hall, cost $750,000 

New City Hospital, cost $316,000 

New High School, cost $521,000 

Public Library, cost $268,000 

HUDSON COUNTY. 

Hudson County was incorporated in 1840, before that date being 
a part of Bergen County. 

Area of Hudson County, (square miles) 43 

Population, 1840 9,483 

1900 386,048 

1905 (State Census) 449,879 

1909 (Estimated by Board of Health) 500, 695 

Hudson County has the smallest area and the largest population 
of any county in New Jersey. 

15 



FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY 

JERSEY CITY, N. J. 



Ex-Officio 



BOARD OF TRUSTEES 
HON. H. OTTO WITTPENN, Mayor 
HENRY SNYDER, SuPT. of Schools 
NELSON J. H. EDGE DAVID R. DALY 

BENJAMIN R. STOWE DAVID W. LAWRENCE 

GORDON K. DICKINSON, M, D. 



OFFICERS 

Benjamin L. Stowe, President 

David R. Daly, ..- Treasurer 

Esther E. Burdick, ------- Librarian 

Edmund W. Miller, Secretary 



The Free Public Library of Jersey City was incorporated in 1889, 
and was opened to the public July 6, 1891, in temporary quarters in 
the basements of the buildings of the Hudson County National and 
Provident Savings Banks on Washington street. On May 24, 1899, 
the contract was awarded for the erection of the present building on 
Jersey avenue, the site of which had been purchased a few years 
before. On January 16, 1901, the new building was completed and 
opened to the public. 

The Library is a plain, substantial fireproof building of Colonial 
design, built of granite and buff brick. It is four stories high, with a 
steel book stack in the rear. The building is 190 feet front, and 46 
feet in depth; and the stack extension is 34 x 38 feet. 

When first opened, the Library contained 15,000 volumes; it now 
has 116,800 volumes upon its shelves. The total number of books used 
during 1908 numbered 711,964. The Library has two branches and 
maintains nineteen delivery stations, at which books are collected and 
delivered daily. 

In addition to a large circulating department, the Library contains 
a very complete collection of books of reference, including a Law 
Library of 5,000 volumes; a Medical Library of 2,500 volumes, and 
forty-two medical periodicals regularly kept on file; and a large collec- 
tion of books especially selected for the use of teachers and pupils of 
the schools. There are kept on file, in the reading rooms, nearly 400 
periodicals and newspapers. 

The Children's Department contains 5,000 volumes of books for 
home reading and a reading room for the special use of the children. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

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